- Joined
- Nov 29, 2009
- Messages
- 10,258
I haven't used my jet ski in a couple years now. The battery is dead flat and it was probably only 6 months old back then. Can I revive it by putting it on a 2 amp slow charge overnight or am I wasting my time?
can a battery that hasn't been for 2 years be.....
- Thread starter The motor guy
- Start date
- Status
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2009
- Messages
- 10,258
Or do I have it backwards? Do a fast charge to knock any sulfation off?
Nick1994
$100 site donor 2024
Probably won't survive, but give it a shot on a 2 amp charge.
Add distilled water if the caps can come off.
Add distilled water if the caps can come off.
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2009
- Messages
- 10,258
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Probably won't survive, but give it a shot on a 2 amp charge.
Add distilled water if the caps can come off.
When I hooked the charger up the guage barely did anything, not sure if they means anything. I actually thought the charger [censored] out and hooked it to another battery and apparently it's just that battery.
Probably won't survive, but give it a shot on a 2 amp charge.
Add distilled water if the caps can come off.
When I hooked the charger up the guage barely did anything, not sure if they means anything. I actually thought the charger [censored] out and hooked it to another battery and apparently it's just that battery.
Probably dead, especially if it's a small battery. Your best bet is to use a smart charger with a revive/repair feature, but I've had mixed luck with them-- sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but it will never bring a battery to new condition, might buy you a year or so.
If it is possible to revive the battery, you want to charge at 1/4 amp or less for several days.
JHZR2
Staff member
There are different types of sulfation. Some can be reversed, some can't.
High charge rates and pulsing can help. Depending upon the lead and surface characteristics, the voltage may rapidly rise without affecting the removal of sulfate, and fool a charger. You may have to play it a few ways, and draw the battery down between...
High charge rates and pulsing can help. Depending upon the lead and surface characteristics, the voltage may rapidly rise without affecting the removal of sulfate, and fool a charger. You may have to play it a few ways, and draw the battery down between...
parallel the battery with a known good battery over some jumper cables.
At first it will not accept much amperage from the good battery, and will quickly rise to near the voltage of the good battery just before it was parallelled.
At this point a regular smart charger can be applied to the good battery, leave them in parallel. The bad battery will take what it can accept at the voltage the charger has the good battery at
If the battery gets hot, stop charging. I'd consider above 105f hot.
Once it cools you can try again, but if voltage instantly drops to less than 10.7v consider it done with a shorted cell.
When charger flashes green light, unparallel the batteries.
Check resting voltage in 12 hours.
report results
Make sure to top off the good battery wha nall is said and done.
A trickle charge is the least abusive way to charge a battery, it is not the best way to restore an abused battery.
An abused battery might need a full charge at a higher rate, to heat the plates and give the sulfation a battery chance of redissolving back into the electrolyte.
Impossible to say if it will work or not, until it is tried.
parallelling it with the good battery will a the minimum allow a smart charger to recognize it as a chargeable battery. most will see sub 10.5v and not even bother.
Some precautions should be considered against fumes and smoke and smell, in case the thing goes into thermal runaway. No sparks, wear eye protection, plenty of ventilation, if you smell sulfur unplug the charger from the wall, and unplug a jumper cable ground at the good battery.
The process should be monitored especially in the early stages.
The battery will not, and simply cannot have anywhere near the capacity or CCA it had when new, though it might only need a fraction of that to do its duty, in warm ambient temps.
I'd no treally trust such a battery unless it held a good voltage under a high load, like the starter it is asked to turn.
At first it will not accept much amperage from the good battery, and will quickly rise to near the voltage of the good battery just before it was parallelled.
At this point a regular smart charger can be applied to the good battery, leave them in parallel. The bad battery will take what it can accept at the voltage the charger has the good battery at
If the battery gets hot, stop charging. I'd consider above 105f hot.
Once it cools you can try again, but if voltage instantly drops to less than 10.7v consider it done with a shorted cell.
When charger flashes green light, unparallel the batteries.
Check resting voltage in 12 hours.
report results
Make sure to top off the good battery wha nall is said and done.
A trickle charge is the least abusive way to charge a battery, it is not the best way to restore an abused battery.
An abused battery might need a full charge at a higher rate, to heat the plates and give the sulfation a battery chance of redissolving back into the electrolyte.
Impossible to say if it will work or not, until it is tried.
parallelling it with the good battery will a the minimum allow a smart charger to recognize it as a chargeable battery. most will see sub 10.5v and not even bother.
Some precautions should be considered against fumes and smoke and smell, in case the thing goes into thermal runaway. No sparks, wear eye protection, plenty of ventilation, if you smell sulfur unplug the charger from the wall, and unplug a jumper cable ground at the good battery.
The process should be monitored especially in the early stages.
The battery will not, and simply cannot have anywhere near the capacity or CCA it had when new, though it might only need a fraction of that to do its duty, in warm ambient temps.
I'd no treally trust such a battery unless it held a good voltage under a high load, like the starter it is asked to turn.
You want to be stuck on the lake/river with a dead battery? Get a new one. Powerssports batteries should be swapped out every two years anyways, if you care about reliability.
Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Probably won't survive, but give it a shot on a 2 amp charge.
Add distilled water if the caps can come off.
When I hooked the charger up the guage barely did anything, not sure if they means anything. I actually thought the charger [censored] out and hooked it to another battery and apparently it's just that battery.
The water / acid chemistry ( and electrical resistance ) varies greatly with the state of charge . When the battery is dead , the electrolyte is the highest % of water & lowest % of acid . Thus electrical resistance , of the electrolyte , is highest . This results in the charging amperage being at minimum .
As the state of charge increases , the electrical resistance of the electrolyte decreases and the charge amperage increases .
I have seen this several times .
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Probably won't survive, but give it a shot on a 2 amp charge.
Add distilled water if the caps can come off.
When I hooked the charger up the guage barely did anything, not sure if they means anything. I actually thought the charger [censored] out and hooked it to another battery and apparently it's just that battery.
The water / acid chemistry ( and electrical resistance ) varies greatly with the state of charge . When the battery is dead , the electrolyte is the highest % of water & lowest % of acid . Thus electrical resistance , of the electrolyte , is highest . This results in the charging amperage being at minimum .
As the state of charge increases , the electrical resistance of the electrolyte decreases and the charge amperage increases .
I have seen this several times .
You may want to consider a new battery. Odyssey batteries are one of the best. They cost more, but can be stored for a couple years without worry. Let us know if the trickle charge works.
Respectfully,
Pajero!
Respectfully,
Pajero!
- Status
